Oh, His Goodness...

God is watching over you.

When King David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6). He’s not saying, “Surely only good things will happen to me!” The fact is that bad things happen to good people. What David is teaching us is that God can take bad, evil, and difficult situations and bring something good out of them.

It’s one of God’s great promises to us: We can know that all things are working for our good “if we love God and are fitting into his plans.” (Romans 8:28). If you’re a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good—not that all things are good.

There’s no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in life that God can’t ultimately turn toward good. When you understand God’s grace and mercy, there’s no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus shouldered the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or ever will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross.

So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them; God is constantly picking up our messes. Christians go toward the future, not with a question mark, but with an exclamation point.

God’s goodness provides and protects; God’s mercy pardons and forgives. God’s goodness will supply; God’s mercy will soothe. God’s goodness will help; God’s mercy will heal.

Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don’t deserve. Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.

IT ALL ADDS UP...

“Reverence for God adds hours to each day.” Proverbs 10:27 (LB)

Do you ever get to the end of your day and think, “Did I accomplish anything? Where does all the time go?”

If you don’t master your schedule, it will master you!

Here are some priceless suggestions from the Bible for countering stress and making your day productive.

• LINE UP your priorities. Obviously, you don’t have time to do everything, and so you must make choices. You must decide what’s really important and what isn’t. Take some time to consider the direction of your life. The Bible says, “An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.” Proverbs 17:24; “It is stupid to waste time on useless projects.” Proverbs 12:11; “We should make plans—counting on God to direct us.” Proverbs 16:9

• LIGHTEN UP your attitude. Do you really have to do everything on your to-do list? No one is holding a gun to your head; a lot of your stress is self-imposed. The Bible says, “Worry weighs us down…” Proverbs 12:25; “A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life.” Proverbs 14:30; “Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.” Proverbs 17:22.

• LOOK UP to God. Stress is always a warning sign that you’ve taken your focus off of God and are looking at your problems from your limited viewpoint.

Wow! Proverbs is God’s wisdom for you and I to apply so that life can work.

I believe the single greatest cause of stress is this: We take ourselves too seriously, and we don’t take God seriously enough! IT ALL ADDS UP.

A Lab of Love

Remember in high school when you took Chemistry? There was the classroom where you took notes and researched your textbook. Then there was the lab where all your book knowledge was to be put into practice.

All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:2. You are not the Body of Christ on your own. You need others to express that. Together, not separated, we are His family. A church family moves you out of self-centered isolation. The local church is the classroom AND the lab for learning how to get along in God's family and practicing unselfish, sympathetic love.

In a spiritual community called the church, you learn to care about others and share the experiences of others: The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:26, "If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor." Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other. Biblical fellowship is being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. God expects us to give our lives for each other. Many Christ followers who know John 3:16 are unaware of 1 John 3:16: "Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

This is the kind of sacrificial love God expects you to show other believers—a willingness to love them in the same way Jesus loves you.

The Elite

Polls… I’ve discovered people know how to answer them correctly, and yet, what I find is that the survey answers are far from being lived out. So let’s imagine… What if a poll was taken about church congregational life? What would it reveal when it comes to the Christ follower actively pursuing relational involvement for the purpose of introducing people to faith in Christ? Often times we are hoping for a program, curriculum, or systematic training when it comes to encouraging us, the Christ followers, to share our faith.

The two greatest commandments Jesus stated -- to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength and love our neighbors -- can best be fulfilled when there is an investment in a relationship. It is a strong belief that God looks on how we treat others, care for others, and serve others, as the genuine measure of what is in our hearts toward Him.

For a large part of my walk with Christ, I have heard the word “evangelism” used over and over again in the advancement of God’s incredible Good news. I have watched how this word has segregated Christ followers with some saying, “I don’t have this gift,” and others appearing to be the elite in the Christ community. The unfortunate result of just having the “elite” share their faith is that we rob the rest of the body of Christ from experiencing Christ fullness in life. We can all find common ground when it comes to relating to people, and all of us can see the world from another’s viewpoint. Evangelism is not for the elite; Kingdom relationships are everyone’s responsibility. Experiencing the fullness of Christ is when we position our hearts to care for the spiritual condition of others.

Beauty Not A Beast

For three days at a conference, I absorbed some of the most incredible teachings on Grace I have ever heard. The love I already had for a beautiful world without Christ increased even more. In Matthew 10:5 Jesus said go to lost, confused people… touch the untouchables. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

Rather than seeing the world as the beast, Jesus saw the beauty of the world. Rather than seeing the sin of people, He saw the beauty of people, which prompted Him to want humanity as His bride. Jesus saw the beauty of humanity crippled by sin, broken and lonely, spiritually destitute and emotionally desperate, facing an eternal divorce sentence from God. Yet, to the contrary God is all about reconciliation, restoration, and healing.

Let’s be honest, there are many times when all we see is the beast side of people. Last thing we want to do is admit that people are beautiful and share with them how much God loves and values them.

I came away from this conference having received so much more than I could possibly ever give. I came away with a new burden for those who are hurting -- those it would be easier to turn away from than to turn toward -- holding God’s love and mercy in my hands. I have a new freedom, which means I also have a new responsibility to be God with skin on in my home, in my ministry, and in my daily life. I pray God uses us all to look for and reach out to those who seem to be unlovable -- those broken people who wait, longing for hope, love and healing.

I Love the Church

Do you know what time it is? It is consumerism time. Life since the mid 80’s has centered around consumerism. Yet in the past 15 years, that mindset has been even more evident. We are a generation of consumers. If we were to describe our culture, it would be self-centered, independent, and analytical. That mindset has made its way, in massive proportions, into the church. It is revealed in the refusal by followers of Christ to settle down and make a life investment into their spiritual community.

Is this what God wants for us? Is this what God design His Church to look like? Let’s fall in love with our Church. Let’s not forget that Church is not a denomination or a name; it is a family of Christ followers that serves as a support and growth tool on our faith journey. Our church is the place God grows us, encourages us, and uses us the best. Loving Jesus involves a passionate love commitment to His Church -- locally, nationally and globally.

It is time for us to get off the loner Christian journey and fall in love with the CHURCH and start journeying together in our faith with fellow members who love Christ.

Caring or Conversion

Do you want to jump start your faith? Do you desire a deeper spiritual relationship with Christ? I want to challenge you to care about other people’s spiritual condition. When you see the word CARE, you may conclude it means “being nice to people.” Nice is good, nice is all right, but I want to challenge you to care about people’s connection with God. Care that they understand God’s love and forgiveness and that they experience His influence and how He can redirect their course of life.

A lot can be said about our spiritual maturity based on how we care for people’s spiritual condition. When I say that, immediately we think, “I’ve got to be on a mission of spiritual conversion,” and yet, I want to challenge you to CARE for a person rather than trying to convert them. Use this acrostic of the word CARE to help people connect spiritually with God.

C – Common Ground. Find common ground in your conversations.

A – Accept people just the way they are.

R – Risk by stepping out to share your spiritual story about you and God.

E – Expect God to do His part as you do yours.

Friends! If He is indeed the Savior of the world, and you know that personally, and you believe that, then why would you not want other people to experience that He is indeed the Savior of the world? Why wouldn’t you be willing to risk? Why wouldn’t you be willing to face your fears, to really care for people, and to have spiritual conversations? Not with the agenda to convert, but with the agenda to care, and with the agenda to love and with the agenda to point them to Jesus because He is indeed the Savior of the world. That’s the challenge.